Piper's Storm Thoughts
by Myseybee
Summary: A shot one shot of what Piper thought as she saw the two male Camp Jupiter praetors battle their legion.


Never in my life did I think Percy and Jason would actually get along.

There had been a nagging sense of competition between the two right from the first time they laid eyes on each other. Maybe they saw each other as a threat, maybe they were just wary of each other's power. I honestly don't know. I never know what those boys are thinking. Before I met Percy, I thought he and Jason would be perfect co-leaders. I was dead wrong. I mean, they're just _constantly_ ready to challenge the other, to assert dominance.

Like this one time, they nearly sank the Argo when their tempers almost got the better of them. Annabeth's intervention was the only thing that stopped them shredding the rest of us. That had started over nothing, and nearly ended in disaster!

And honestly? I was beginning to doubt if we could defeat Gaea at all if these two couldn't even decide where to sit. Admittedly, what happened in Kansas earlier sure didn't help at all, and I doubted they could put that behind them easily. But still, they were going to get us killed if they couldn't put their differences aside. That said, it just felt like we were fighting a hopeless battle when trying to sweet-talk the two into combining forces.

Oh but if you could see them now. Right now, fighting side by side, they're Percy Jackson and Jason Grace. And nothing, not even Eidolons or Gaea herself, can tear them down. They're staring down the Legion with this cold, bitter look in their eyes, and if I'm being honest here, I was completely and utterly terrified.

Part of me can't believe Jason can actually bring himself to do this to his camp. Okay, they attacked us in New Rome, but they were being fired on, and were scared. I can't make myself blame them, not really. And Jason, this was his family, his home...

I guess facing the end of the world really does make us do crazy things to save it, but it still hurts to watch him lose everything he could've had. _Everything he deserved to have_.

And then there's the ever loyal Percy. Percy Jackson, doted on by both Greek and Roman demigods alike. This must hurt him too, to knock down all the people he's befriended. He earned their trust, their friendship, but that's all gone now. All I can say for sure is that his hamartia, his fatal flaw, will either be the thing that helps us succeed, or the one that makes us crumble in the dirt.

That's one thing he and Jason _do h_ave in common; they'll both sacrifice themselves to help others.

Thunder crashed and lightning flashed so close to me it made my hair stand on end. A strangled scream tore itself from my throat, and I was jolted back to reality. My eyes darted over the battlefield, looking for Jason, Percy, -_anyone!_- and fear clogged my throat. The storm was almost on the brink of being out of control, just a hair away from becoming pure, unbridled destruction.

All the Romans were being flung back, but the Argo team weren't immune. Through the blistering winds, I could just pick out the crouched figures of Hazel and Leo huddled, shielding each other from the chaos, and the rest of the crew weren't doing any better. Annabeth was pressed against the ground, and Nico was on his knees. And I couldn't tell for sure, but for a second, I thought I saw Frank being whipped around like a lifeless bird. I tried to call out, to shriek at the boys to stop, but my voice was lost in the wind. All I could do was flatten myself against the earth and edge slowly towards the mighty ship.

It was so unfair. The whole journey so far had been spent trying to make the boys work together, to stop putting us in danger, and yet when they finally cooperate it they end up like this! On the Argo, we only had them to deal with. Here, we could be tossed right into the Romans' hands at any second.

I dug my hands into the grass for extra grip in a desperate attempt to hold on. The storm was, impossibly, getting even worse. Any second now, I would be picked up off the ground and hurled across the tarmac. I prayed to my mum, Zeus, and anyone else I could think of. Any second now my fingers would lose their grip...

But suddenly, like someone had heard my silent plea, the wind dropped completely. I tentatively raised my head, and watched as Nico did the same. Our eyes met, and they were both full of shaky relief. I only wasted a few brief moments revelling in my eventual safety, before jumping up, helping Frank do the same, and sprinting towards the ship. Thank god nobody appeared to be hurt. I was still shaking, though. That had been too close.

I paused, letting Hazel climb before me, and using the spare moments to seek out the Romans. Thankfully they were a good hundred metres back as the wind still buffeted them, making their advance impossible. I had one hand on the ladder when I spotted Reyna. Standing at the head of her legion, watching her enemies with cold regality. She was always so composed and stoic. Percy, Jason, Frank... everyone said it, but only now did I fully understand.

There were little hints, like her dripping hair and dented armour, that described the ferocious storm she'd just encountered, but she still held her composure. It could've just been my imagination or maybe the overwhelming relief, but I swore Reyna took a small step forward. She had a look of disgruntled admiration on her face as she watched her fellow praetors. But as soon as it was there, it was gone. Replaced with a bleak, stony glint to her eye. With a swish of her cape, Reyna turned and vanished into her legion.

To my sides, Romans were peeling themselves off the ground. One unfortunate boy had been thrown into the water and was being hauled up onto dry land by a tall, lanky girl. Uprooted plants lay strewn across the recent battlefield, and a thin layer of dirt covered us all from where the boys had torn up half the grass. It was devastation to an extent I'd never seen before. Chills ran down my spine just looking at it.

This storm was just a preview. Just the tiniest glimpse of a world if the Romans and Greeks continued to fight. A permanent Trojan War. And I hope, when the time comes, Reyna will realize that we need to work together to stop it.

**A/N Thanks for reading! I first wrote this in the car during a thunderstorm... Also, if there's anything that isn't 100% in line with the book, I'm sorry. Forgive me?**

**Made a thousand times better by my beta Liana - a huge thankyou to her! **

**Please R&R! It makes my day! :)**


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